tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53405186262436614852017-09-09T04:39:09.134-07:00It's all fun and games until someone gets an agentMary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-46685557431231203452015-03-16T20:22:00.001-07:002015-03-16T20:22:16.809-07:00Moving on up....to well, just a different website...I finally did it! I have a domain :)<br /><br />I will no longer be blogging at this website, but I still love it--so much history and general insanity--so I will keep it up for posterity.<br /><br />Come on over and find me at:&nbsp;<a href="http://authormaryframe.com/">http://authormaryframe.com/</a><br /><br />I am still working on getting it all purty and set up, but that's where I'll be posting from here on out.<br /><br />Love you all!<br /><br />Mary<br /><br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-7946628090311198852014-11-12T18:17:00.002-08:002014-11-12T18:17:44.002-08:00Stuff! Happenings! Mayhem! Onions! <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hey everyone!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a busy year.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, book two in the Imperfect Series--Imperfectly Criminal--was unleashed upon the world! Mayhem and madness ensued....well, not really. In actuality, a few people bought it AND it made it to #17 under Mystery&gt;Women Sleuths in Amazon Canada! That's right. See:&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="productDetailsTable" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><tbody><tr><td class="bucket" style="padding: 5px 0em;"><div class="content" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0em 25px;"><ul style="font-size: small; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"></li><li id="SalesRank" style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Amazon Bestsellers Rank:</b>&nbsp;#708 Paid in Kindle Store (<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_dp_ts_kinc_1" style="color: #003399;">See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store</a>)</li><ul class="zg_hrsr" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="zg_hrsr_item" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><span class="zg_hrsr_rank" style="display: inline-block; text-align: right; width: 50px;">#17</span>&nbsp;<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kinc_1_1" style="color: #003399;">Kindle Store</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/2980423011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kinc_1_2" style="color: #003399;">Kindle eBooks</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/5790756011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kinc_1_3" style="color: #003399;">Mystery, Thriller &amp; Suspense</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/5790758011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kinc_1_4" style="color: #003399;">Mystery</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/5790764011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kinc_1_5_last" style="color: #003399;">Women Sleuths</a></b></span></li><li class="zg_hrsr_item" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><span class="zg_hrsr_rank" style="display: inline-block; text-align: right; width: 50px;">#41</span>&nbsp;<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/books/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_1" style="color: #003399;">Books</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/books/948808/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_2" style="color: #003399;">Mystery, Thriller &amp; Suspense</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/books/949944/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_3" style="color: #003399;">Mystery</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/books/949964/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_4_last" style="color: #003399;">Women Sleuths</a></b></span></li></ul></ul><div style="font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love you Canadians!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, releasing book one was nerve-wracking, but number two was worse (not that number two!).&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am sooo nervous that people who enjoyed the first one, won't enjoy the second one quite as much. They are very different stories, very different characters. But I'm working on convincing myself of what I already know: I can't control how people react to my books, I can only write the best story that I can, and focus on moving forward.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of moving forward, I've been killing myself trying to figure out what to do next. I might take a little mini-break to decompress from all the writing/editing fervor that's been happening in my (very limited) free time this year, and then I think I'm going to write a novella for this series and it will be Sam's story (Lucy's brother).&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, hope all you out there in the blog-o-sphere are having a wonderful hump day!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading!&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh and here's some links for Imperfectly Criminal :)</span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imperfectly-Criminal-Imperfect-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00P6P9DXY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1415844738&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=imperfectly+criminal" target="_blank">Amazon Kindle Link</a></span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imperfectly-Criminal-Imperfect-Series-Volume/dp/1502407922/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1415844738&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon Paperback Link&nbsp;</a></div><div style="font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/imperfectly-criminal-mary-frame/1120725650?ean=2940150501065" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a></div><div style="font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/490154" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></div><div style="font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/imperfectly-criminal?utm_source=Clixgalore&amp;utm_medium=Affiliate&amp;utm_campaign=clixaffiliate" target="_blank">Kobo</a></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-44721731875037518902014-10-31T07:32:00.001-07:002014-10-31T07:32:28.638-07:00Book Sale! Get it while it's hot! Good morning and Happy Halloween blog readers!<br /><br />I have a few fun things to share with you guys today.<br /><br />First, I got my edits back on Imperfectly Criminal and I am diligently working on getting it up and running and available for pre-order as soon as I can.<br /><br />Second, Imperfect Chemistry is now available for only 99 cents!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yVv_sa3zPzU/VFOZMZEkaDI/AAAAAAAAFi4/W42cEuZQuG0/s1600/science%2Bcat%2Bmeme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yVv_sa3zPzU/VFOZMZEkaDI/AAAAAAAAFi4/W42cEuZQuG0/s1600/science%2Bcat%2Bmeme.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imperfect-Chemistry-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00JTJQRNW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1414764876&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=imperfect+chemistry" target="_blank">You can download at Amazon</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/imperfect-chemistry-mary-frame/1119333412?ean=2940149682133&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=imperfect+chemistry" target="_blank">Or Barnes and Noble</a><br /><br /><a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/imperfect-chemistry" target="_blank">Or Kobo</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/459173" target="_blank">Or Smashwords</a><br /><br />And probably a bunch of other places that Smashwords distributes, too. Hopefully the prices have updated everywhere! Some places might take longer to update than others.<br /><br />Third, my beautiful friend and fellow Goat Posse member Darke Conteur has an excerpt from Imperfect Chemistry up at her blog! Go check it out <a href="http://darkeconteur.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/writer-in-progress-imperfect-chemistry-written-by-mary-frame/" target="_blank">by clicking here</a>.<br /><br />What is<a href="http://jlealopez.blogspot.ca/p/goatposse.html" target="_blank"> the Goat Posse</a>, you ask? Well, we're a group of amazingly talented and really attractive writers who somehow found each other amongst the interwebs and became very good friends.<br /><br />I think that's it for today!<br /><br />Have a spooktacular Halloween everyone!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OhEfPmOp_XM/VFOdY3qo3WI/AAAAAAAAFjE/Z0xJwRY-uOA/s1600/halloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OhEfPmOp_XM/VFOdY3qo3WI/AAAAAAAAFjE/Z0xJwRY-uOA/s1600/halloween.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-16299185245799599862014-10-21T17:27:00.004-07:002014-10-22T05:46:00.356-07:00*GIVEAWAY* signed copies of Imperfectly Criminal! Hello beautiful people!<br /><br />In order to celebrate the release of Imperfectly Criminal next month, I am giving away signed copies!<br /><br />The giveaway is through Goodreads <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/112359-imperfectly-criminal" target="_blank">(linky loo right here....click me, ohhh yeah you know you wanna...)</a><br /><br />And I will also put a gadget doo-hickey immediately to your right.<br /><br />Many will enter, only three will win, and those three will live in either the US, Canada or the UK.<br /><br />Ends November 30th!<br /><br />Good night, and good luck.<br /><br />MaryMary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-35230317166615231442014-10-12T16:07:00.000-07:002014-10-12T16:07:15.242-07:00Cover Reveal -- Imperfectly Criminal!!!I am SO excited to share this cover with you!<br /><br />For this book, I hired Sarah over at <a href="http://sprinklesontopstudios.com/" target="_blank">Sprinkles on Top Studios</a>. You NEED to check out her work, all over her covers are amazing and I want all of them for myself! Plus, she is scary fast. She pulled this whole thing together in a matter of DAYS. If I could meet her in person, I would probably try to make out with her. It's a good thing she lives across the country.<br /><br />This was a new experience for me, because we (Sarah and I) hand picked models and she did a whole custom cover shoot. She sent me all of her favorite shots, then we picked the cover shot based on those. I even got to keep a few of the photos to make teasers with! (which I have no idea how to do! But I will figure it out!!!)<br /><br />I love these models, btw (even though every time I think of models, I immediately think of Zoolander) and let me tell you, they are more than just really, really, really good looking.<br /><br />The cover models are Catie Chapman and Chase Riner--they are so sweet--we are now Facebook friends and they both insisted on reading Imperfect Chemistry and professed to enjoy it (I still never believe anyone when they say they liked it, though. I have problems).<br /><br />So here it is!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYiet9kXUMc/VDsHSrOFViI/AAAAAAAAFd8/3wuEeb7ZtGc/s1600/Mary%2BFull%2BCover%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYiet9kXUMc/VDsHSrOFViI/AAAAAAAAFd8/3wuEeb7ZtGc/s1600/Mary%2BFull%2BCover%2Bcopy.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Isn't it pretty? Don't you just love it so much you want to eat it and then regurgitate it and then eat it again?&nbsp;</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I'm still banking on November 11th for the release date for Imperfectly Criminal to be available to purchase.<br /><br />It's pending review right now with some of my most trusted beta readers ("most trusted" is code for "I'm pretty sure they won't hate me even after reading my drivel"), and then I will need to edit based on feedback and click the publish button!<br /><br />I will also be running a special promotional price for the month of release (November) for both Imperfect Chemistry and Imperfectly Criminal, so stay tuned!<br /><br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-35559819040731404852014-09-20T12:59:00.000-07:002014-09-20T12:59:25.011-07:00Book Review!! Chad's Chase by S. Ann Cole<br />**ARC received in exchange for an honest review**<br /><br />Chad's Chase is definitely not your typical romance. If you want something light and sweet, run the other way. If you want something intense, brutal, and action-packed that pulls you in and won't let you go, this is the book for you.<br /><br />Jhay Byrd is not your typical heroine. She's a trained assassin with a seriously effed up past.<br /><br />Chadrick Niiveux is also an assassin, one who ruined Jhay's life, and now she's out to get him for revenge, and to obtain her own freedom.<br /><br />Their romance is extreme and severe, and at times their feelings for each other swing from crazy passionate to crazy hatred. I really loved the whole thing, read it in one sitting. If you're looking for a hot, steamy thrill ride, and you're willing to suspend disbelief--you need to read this book.<br /><br />About the book:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jCqyfsgV8a0/VB3bquKtKgI/AAAAAAAAFUU/azzF6Du9_Lo/s1600/chadschase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jCqyfsgV8a0/VB3bquKtKgI/AAAAAAAAFUU/azzF6Du9_Lo/s1600/chadschase.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">He wants to claim her, possess her, rename her.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But she has a different agenda...&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">JHAY BYRD&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Chadrick needs to die.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m ruined. My life is ruined. Because of him.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Soulless, heartless, unremorseful, he took everything from me.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Everything.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now, I’m after his soul.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And no, I will not allow his good looks, suave style, or panty-incinerating body to distract or dissuade me.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nor will I allow his deadly dark eyes to scare me.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Unlike everyone else, I’m not afraid of him.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The. Chase. Is. On.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">CHADRICK NIIVEUX&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jhay needs saving.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’ve ruined her life. She’s lost, roaming the darkness all on her own, because of me.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Bitter, impulsive, seething with revenge, she thinks she hates me. Thinks she wants me dead.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I know I should kill her. Kill or be killed, right?&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Except, I can’t.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m shot down. Infatuated.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’ve always been.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And while she’s after my life, I’m after her heart.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The. Chase. Is. On&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Available now!! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chads-Chase-Loving-Wrong-Book-ebook/dp/B00NC05X0W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1411242250&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=chad%27s+chase" target="_blank">Buy on Amazon</a></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21883389-chad-s-chase?from_search=true" target="_blank">Add on Goodreads!</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chads-chase-s-ann-cole/1120325982?ean=2940046149777&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=chad%27s+chase" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Buy at Barnes and Noble!</span></a>Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-7763737474111978042014-09-02T18:33:00.002-07:002014-09-02T19:08:04.488-07:00I WANT YOU! to help me pick a title because I'm a moron...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZaBM_M-HChU/VAZxnjP1asI/AAAAAAAAFQo/r4tiyBsc4U0/s1600/unclesam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZaBM_M-HChU/VAZxnjP1asI/AAAAAAAAFQo/r4tiyBsc4U0/s1600/unclesam.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div><br /><br />Hey everyone!<br /><br />I need help picking a title for my next novel (book two in the Imperfect Series, see the "My Books" tab above for more info).<br /><br />The novel is a New Adult Romantic Comedy with a bit of a murder/mystery thrown into the mix. I have been trying to come up with a title that has the word Imperfect in there somewhere, plus embodies the idea of romance/mystery/legal type stuff.<br /><br />I had originally titled it <i>Imperfectly Legal</i>, but after much contemplation and forehead slapping, I realized Imperfectly Legal sounds way to much like Barely Legal. *head desk*<br /><br />I can't decide what to change the title to, so I made a poll. Please consider voting for your favorite below, or if you have a title that's not listed, leave a comment! I will love you forever! <br /><br />Here's a brief synopsis to give you a feelsky:<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Freya Morgan thought it would be a great idea to hire the bad boy on campus to beat up her douchebag ex-boyfriend after he cheated and treated her like crap. Fast forward a few months, and nothing she’s done has helped her get over the scars left behind by her ex. Not the paid beating, not the string of sucky dates, nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Dean Collins is in trouble, and it’s all Freya’s fault. After all, she started the trend of all the ladies on campus paying him to do their dirty work. But now, two of the boys he was hired to beat up are dead, and he’s the only connection.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When Freya agrees to help him find the real killer, she discovers that this bad boy isn’t so bad, after all. And getting involved with him means more than finding a killer, it means potentially losing her life…and her heart.</span><br /><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span> <style>#qp_main136653 .qp_btna:hover input {background: rgb(183,222,237)!important;background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(183,222,237,1) 0%, rgba(113,206,239,1) 50%, rgba(33,180,226,1) 51%, rgba(183,222,237,1) 100%)!important;background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(183,222,237,1)), color-stop(50%,rgba(113,206,239,1)), color-stop(51%,rgba(33,180,226,1)), color-stop(100%,rgba(183,222,237,1)))!important;background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgba(183,222,237,1) 0%,rgba(113,206,239,1) 50%,rgba(33,180,226,1) 51%,rgba(183,222,237,1) 100%)!important;background: -o-linear-gradient(top, rgba(183,222,237,1) 0%,rgba(113,206,239,1) 50%,rgba(33,180,226,1) 51%,rgba(183,222,237,1) 100%)!important;background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, rgba(183,222,237,1) 0%,rgba(113,206,239,1) 50%,rgba(33,180,226,1) 51%,rgba(183,222,237,1) 100%)!important;background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(183,222,237,1) 0%,rgba(113,206,239,1) 50%,rgba(33,180,226,1) 51%,rgba(183,222,237,1) 100%)!important;filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#b7deed', endColorstr='#b7deed',GradientType=0)!important}</style><br /><div id="qp_main136653" style="background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%, rgba(201,219,229,1) 19%, rgba(216,225,231,1) 58%, rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(201,219,229,1) 19%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 58%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: -o-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(201,219,229,1) 19%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 58%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(242,246,248,1)), color-stop(19%,rgba(201,219,229,1)), color-stop(58%,rgba(216,225,231,1)), color-stop(100%,rgba(224,239,249,1))); background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(201,219,229,1) 19%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 58%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(201,219,229,1) 19%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 58%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: rgb(201,219,229); border-radius: 6px; border: 1px solid rgb(150,163,170); filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#F2F6F8', endColorstr='#C9DBE5', GradientType=0); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding: 10px; zoom: 1;"><div style="background-color: #596166; background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(85,102,111,1) 0%, rgba(79,91,99,1) 18%, rgba(69,80,87,1) 57%, rgba(73,98,115,1) 100%); background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, rgba(85,102,111,1) 0%,rgba(79,91,99,1) 18%,rgba(69,80,87,1) 57%,rgba(73,98,115,1) 100%); background: -o-linear-gradient(top, rgba(85,102,111,1) 0%,rgba(79,91,99,1) 18%,rgba(69,80,87,1) 57%,rgba(73,98,115,1) 100%); background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(85,102,111,1)), color-stop(18%,rgba(79,91,99,1)), color-stop(57%,rgba(69,80,87,1)), color-stop(100%,rgba(73,98,115,1))); background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgba(85,102,111,1) 0%,rgba(79,91,99,1) 18%,rgba(69,80,87,1) 57%,rgba(73,98,115,1) 100%); background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(85,102,111,1) 0%,rgba(79,91,99,1) 18%,rgba(69,80,87,1) 57%,rgba(73,98,115,1) 100%); background: rgb(85,102,111); border-radius: 6px; border: 1px solid rgb(241,245,248); color: white; filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='#55666f', endColorstr='#496273',GradientType=0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 10px; zoom: 1;"><div style="padding: 10px;">What should the new title be?</div></div><form action="http://www.poll-maker.com/results136653xa33D3128-6" id="qp_form136653" method="post" style="display: inline; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><div style="border-radius: 6px;"><div style="clear: both; color: black; cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px;"><span onclick="if((!event.target?event.srcElement:event.target).tagName!='INPUT'){var c=this.childNodes[0];c.checked=(c.type=='radio'?true:!c.checked);}" style="display: block; padding-left: 30px;"><input name="qp_v136653" style="float: left; height: 18px; margin-left: -25px; margin-top: -1px; padding: 0px; width: 25px;" type="radio" value="1" />Legally Imperfect</span></div><div style="clear: both; color: black; cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px;"><span onclick="if((!event.target?event.srcElement:event.target).tagName!='INPUT'){var c=this.childNodes[0];c.checked=(c.type=='radio'?true:!c.checked);}" style="display: block; padding-left: 30px;"><input name="qp_v136653" style="float: left; height: 18px; margin-left: -25px; margin-top: -1px; padding: 0px; width: 25px;" type="radio" value="2" />Imperfectly Criminal</span></div><div style="clear: both; color: black; cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px;"><span onclick="if((!event.target?event.srcElement:event.target).tagName!='INPUT'){var c=this.childNodes[0];c.checked=(c.type=='radio'?true:!c.checked);}" style="display: block; padding-left: 30px;"><input name="qp_v136653" style="float: left; height: 18px; margin-left: -25px; margin-top: -1px; padding: 0px; width: 25px;" type="radio" value="3" />Imperfectly Dangerous</span></div><div style="clear: both; color: black; cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px;"><span onclick="if((!event.target?event.srcElement:event.target).tagName!='INPUT'){var c=this.childNodes[0];c.checked=(c.type=='radio'?true:!c.checked);}" style="display: block; padding-left: 30px;"><input name="qp_v136653" style="float: left; height: 18px; margin-left: -25px; margin-top: -1px; padding: 0px; width: 25px;" type="radio" value="4" />Other (Comment below!)</span></div></div><div style="clear: both; padding-top: 10px;"><a class="qp_btna" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5340518626243661485#"><input name="qp_b136653" style="background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%, rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%, rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%, rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%,rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: -o-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%,rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(242,246,248,1)), color-stop(50%,rgba(216,225,231,1)), color-stop(51%,rgba(181,198,208,1)), color-stop(100%,rgba(224,239,249,1))); background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%,rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%,rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: rgb(242,246,248); border-radius: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(150,163,170); color: black; cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; height: 30px; margin-right: 5px; width: 80px; zoom: 1;" type="submit" value="Vote" /></a><a class="qp_btna" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5340518626243661485#"><input name="qp_b136653" style="background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%, rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%, rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%, rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%,rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: -o-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%,rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(242,246,248,1)), color-stop(50%,rgba(216,225,231,1)), color-stop(51%,rgba(181,198,208,1)), color-stop(100%,rgba(224,239,249,1))); background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%,rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(242,246,248,1) 0%,rgba(216,225,231,1) 50%,rgba(181,198,208,1) 51%,rgba(224,239,249,1) 100%); background: rgb(242,246,248); border-radius: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(150,163,170); color: black; cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; height: 30px; margin-right: 5px; width: 80px; zoom: 1;" type="submit" value="Results" /></a></div><a href="http://www.poll-maker.com/" id="qp_a136653" style="color: black; float: right; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; margin-right: -5px; margin-top: -12px; text-decoration: none;">Poll Maker</a></form></div><script language="javascript" src="http://scripts.poll-maker.com/3012/scpolls.js"></script>Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-32124940809996466012014-08-10T07:48:00.000-07:002014-08-10T07:48:25.111-07:00Giveaway has ended, winners announced!Good morning everyone!<br /><br />A HUGE GIANT thank you to everyone who entered. I notified the winners this morning (most via e-mail, so check your spam just in case it got mis-routed!)<br /><br />I am giving ebooks to everyone who entered because I'm a sucker like that, and I am getting rid of my three paperback copies -- they will be shipping tomorrow.<br /><br />If you entered and I missed you somehow, just let me know.<br /><br />Happy Sunday!<br /><br />I'll leave you with some Agatha Christie quotes that I'm using in my upcoming NA RomCom slash murder/mystery novel.<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S5gT7mg-3BU/U-eF6QdzJNI/AAAAAAAAFAM/0UdJHtDI7ZU/s1600/ridiculous.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S5gT7mg-3BU/U-eF6QdzJNI/AAAAAAAAFAM/0UdJHtDI7ZU/s1600/ridiculous.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yTXZTKoP6OM/U-eF3iD_l2I/AAAAAAAAFAE/4y2S0Cc6Kp8/s1600/living.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yTXZTKoP6OM/U-eF3iD_l2I/AAAAAAAAFAE/4y2S0Cc6Kp8/s1600/living.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-68639373094618597622014-08-06T05:38:00.000-07:002014-08-07T05:58:18.483-07:00Wanna Free Book? ENTER NOW!Hey everyone, it's Wednesday! Seems like a good day to give away some books.<br /><br />If you would like a free e-book copy of my novel,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imperfect-Chemistry-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00JTJQRNW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1407295587&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=imperfect+chemistry" target="_blank"> Imperfect Chemistry</a>, (info below) simply leave a comment on this post with your name and e-mail address and you are entered to win. I will be giving away FIVE copies, so your odds will be good!<br /><br />If you're adverse to commenting, or don't want to leave your e-mail/name on a public site, (some of us have stalkers, I get it) find me and message me at any of these fine locations:<br /><br />Twitter: @marewulf<br />Facebook: www.Facebook/AuthorMaryFrame<br />e-mail: maryframeauthor@gmail.com<br /><br />I will be more than happy to add you to the drawing.<br /><br />If you don't have an e-reader, and you're DYING to read my novel, please let me know you would need a paper copy if you win. I have three paperbacks sitting on a table in my living room gathering dust, and I don't mind shipping.<br /><br />Enter between now, Wednesday August 6th, through Saturday, August 9th. Winners will be notified/announced on the 10th!<br /><br />Good night, and good luck!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4lZIXpAOqcE/U-GjnCr_fzI/AAAAAAAAE-s/gI2ocrEBUOw/s1600/Imperfect+Chemistry+-high.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4lZIXpAOqcE/U-GjnCr_fzI/AAAAAAAAE-s/gI2ocrEBUOw/s1600/Imperfect+Chemistry+-high.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lucy London puts the word genius to shame. Having obtained her PhD in microbiology by the age of twenty, she's amassed a wealth of knowledge, but one subject still eludes her—people. The pendulum of passions experienced by those around her both confuses and intrigues her, so when she’s offered a grant to study emotion as a pathogen, she jumps on the opportunity.&nbsp;</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When her attempts to come up with an actual experiment quickly drop from lackluster to nonexistent, she’s given a choice: figure out how to conduct a groundbreaking study on passion, or lose both the grant and her position at the university. Put on leave until she can crack the perfect proposal, she finds there’s only one way she can study emotions: by experiencing them herself.&nbsp;</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Enter Jensen Walker, Lucy's neighbor and the one person on the planet she finds strangely and maddeningly appealing. Jensen's life is the stuff of campus legend, messy, emotional, complicated—in short, the perfect starting point for Lucy's study. When her tenaciousness wears him down and he consents to help her, sparks fly. To her surprise, Lucy finds herself battling with her own emotions, as foreign as they are intense. With the clock ticking on her deadline, Lucy must decide what's more important: analyzing her passions...or giving in to them?</span><br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-36146445372382943232014-08-05T05:37:00.000-07:002014-08-05T05:37:04.056-07:00Cover Reveal!!!The wonderful and amazing <a href="http://yesternightsvoyage.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Joyce Alton</a> is publishing her first book this fall and today is the big cover reveal!<br /><br />The novel, TREFURY: MENDI'S CURSE is the first part of a trilogy and will be released September 2014! A mere month from now (or so).<br /><br />I'm so excited guys, Joyce is just the sweetest ever and I wish her SO MUCH success in her publishing journey.<br /><br />Here's the deets:<br /><br /><div class="" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span class="" style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">An ancient legend is remade.</span></span></div><div class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br class="" /><span class=""></span></span></div><div class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Meet the oddest, most-likely-to-fail partnership the planet Niyhel has ever known. He's cunning, intelligent, and dangerous. She's slow to trust, reckless, and loyal. And both of them have their own ideas about how to do things.</span></div><div class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br class="" /><span class=""></span></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="">Thssk, a six-thousand-year old norhendra, has unwittingly caused the near extinction of his kind. Then he abandoned his handler</span>, momentarily forgetting that she was an astral. She curses him as he flees the battlefield: the next handler he chooses will avenge her. Hunted by his past, it takes a divine summons and a volcanic eruption to rekindle Thssk's competitive spirit after a long hibernation. Racing against his enemies to rescue a boy from another planet<span class=""></span><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;">?</span></i><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;">—he's the only one capable of pulling it off. But there's a catch, he has to select a new human partner to work with.</span></i></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br class="" /><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></i></span></div><div style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i class="">Tech savvy Cortnee Feyandihar is tracking down the people responsible for her mom's death while trying to gain a footing on a career path in the fields of music and dance. But when she goes too far with a corruption expos</i><i class="">é, a last-ditch effort to salvage her future sticks her in the middle of an inter-world showdown and right into Thssk's coils.</i></span></div><div style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br class="" /><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></i></span></div><div style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i class="">On a world where starships are born, homes grow, and flowers can flatten entire cities, the fates of two lands hangs in the balance, as do the lives of millions of people. Yet it all pales in comparison to Thssk confronting the repercussions of discarding his previous partners as he struggles with his unpredictable new one. Everything Cortnee thought she understood has turned inside out and she must utilize every skill in her arsenal to get a grip on her new reality. If they can't learn to communicate and work together, he won't achieve the great future he was promised, but if they do, Cortnee could fall like her predecessors</i><i class="">—into madness.</i></span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i class=""><br /></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And now, for the cover....drum roll please....</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">...</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">....</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">......</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">.......ok, keep scrolling, I won't keep you in too much suspense.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wVdTVPq7nmk/U-DPBS77U1I/AAAAAAAAE-I/2zWdH0mWpTI/s1600/Trefury+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wVdTVPq7nmk/U-DPBS77U1I/AAAAAAAAE-I/2zWdH0mWpTI/s1600/Trefury+Cover.jpg" height="320" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's like fantasy slash medieval slash awesome!&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"></div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"></div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br class="" /></span></span></i></div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Author bio:</span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Joyce Alton writes fantasy, science-fantasy, and historical fantasy. She is an avid reader, having a soft spot for classic literature, a good MG or YA adventure, anything that will make her laugh out loud, or which is beautifully written. She loves rainy days, helping other people, and spending time with her family. She is married to a wonderfully supportive husband and has three children. She currently lives in Idaho.</span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Links to connect with Joyce Alton and to learn more about her and her upcoming novel:</span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Follow her on&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/joycealton" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Like her page on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Clippership14" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit;" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></div><div class="ecxyui_3_16_0_6_1407167947366_149" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.719999313354492px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Follow her blog<span style="font-style: italic;">,&nbsp;<a href="http://yesternightsvoyage.blogspot.com/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit;" target="_blank">Yesternight's Voyage</a></span></span></div>Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-73289358816625796482014-07-15T06:33:00.000-07:002014-07-15T06:33:49.155-07:00Exciting Stuff and things that make my eyeballs happyHey everyone!<br /><br />Good news! This weekend, Imperfect Chemistry will be available at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, the iTunes store and hopefully lots of other places where you can buy books! I'm very excited.<br /><br />In addition, I'm participating in my first virtual book tour next week, so I will be posting linkage and that kind of crap on here when that all happens. It's my first experience with book touring so hopefully I won't do anything stupid or jack it all up (this happens to me a lot).<br /><br />Another exciting thing that I've been blathering about to anyone and everyone for the past few days is...someone made a book trailer for Imperfect Chemistry! And it's so adorable it makes my eyeballs happy!<br /><br />The video is courtesy of Midnight Fairy over at <a href="http://bookaholicfairies.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Musings of the Book-a-holic Fairies</a> blog. A TON of great reviews to be found over there, check it out!<br /><br />Here's the book trailer, I hope you enjoy as much I did! I had to go download a bunch of Regina Spektor songs after watching this and if you have Amazon Prime you can listen to a few of her albums (including the song in the trailer) for free. Love it!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/tEw7KERNd94?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-72289554693803064402014-06-24T18:07:00.001-07:002014-06-24T18:07:05.505-07:00The Goodreads Giveaway has ended! If you are a winner...Hey everyone!<br /><br />So my Goodreads giveaway ended last Friday! I had over 1600 entries, wow. There were five winners, and FOUR of the FIVE were international entries! What can I say, I'm internationally renowned (hardy har har).<br /><br />I mailed the books off today, one to Indiana, two to Canada, one to the UK and one to Australia. I really wanted to notify the winners that the books were winging their way, but part of the message I got from Goodreads said not to contact the winners or else it might be marked as spam or something.<br /><br />I'M NOT A STALKER GUYS I SWEAR.<br /><br />So, if you won my book you should receive it within the next few weeks! (unless you're the one in Indiana, you should have yours next Tuesday!)<br /><br />If you are a winner and want to PM me with more details or questions or whatever, I promise not to mark you as spam. Unless you start getting creepy and asking about my toes or something, in which case, I still won't mark you as spam, but I'll laugh and maybe reply with things that are just as crazy.<br /><br />If it's not received within the next month or so, please let me know!<br /><br />Happy Taco Tuesday!<br /><br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-56476313910586385172014-05-21T06:16:00.001-07:002014-05-21T06:16:28.626-07:00I'm Giving Away FREE Signed Copies of my Book! Check it out!Hey everyone!<br /><br />So, I'm doing a giveaway on Goodreads! And hopefully I haven't totally jacked it up!<br /><br />There should be a widget directly to your right that you can click on to enter and WIN WIN WIN, but if I junked that up too, here's another linky poo:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/93552-imperfect-chemistry" target="_blank">Click me riiiiight here</a><br /><br />So go and enter! Five books available! Enter now through June 20th (which seems like a real long time, but Goodreads recommended keeping it open for at least a month). I will ship to US, Canada, UK, Australia, France and Germany! All the countries who have (thus far) purchased my book! I don't know why I keep using exclamation points at five o'clock in the morning before I've had my coffee!! Those are all countries I've been too! Wait, nope...subtract Australia and I've been to all the other countries!!<br /><br />Okay, I'm going to drink my coffee now and get ready for work.<br /><br />Happy Hump Day!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2fR9M7Avc_Q/U3ymAsQMi-I/AAAAAAAAEB0/r1Lo9lEXubo/s1600/humpday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2fR9M7Avc_Q/U3ymAsQMi-I/AAAAAAAAEB0/r1Lo9lEXubo/s1600/humpday.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eLPq8zLR19w/U3ymGi3kU_I/AAAAAAAAEB8/fYjqNidTSsY/s1600/jules.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eLPq8zLR19w/U3ymGi3kU_I/AAAAAAAAEB8/fYjqNidTSsY/s1600/jules.jpg" /></a></div><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-4159631781366043082014-05-17T17:14:00.003-07:002014-05-17T17:14:48.505-07:00Cover Reveal! Giveaway! Swag! OH MY!!!So, I've been very blessed to be a part of an intimate group of talented, amazing and generous writerly friends. We are The Goat Posse. A member of my goat posse, Eric Devine, recently had his AMAZEBALLS cover for his YA novel PRESS PLAY revealed on a variety of blogs across the interwebs including wonderful swag giveaways from some more Goat Posse peeps.<br /><br />Wanna see the swag? You know you do.<br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><strong style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A signed copy of SUMMER ON THE SHORT BUS by Bethany Crandell + a swag pack with bookmark and pin!</strong></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/shortbus-book-swag.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="shortbus-book-swag" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-674" src="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/shortbus-book-swag.jpg?w=500" height="300" originalw="500" scale="1.5" style="background-image: url(http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/mistylook/img/shadow.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-width: 1px; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-width: 1px; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 10px 4px; width: auto;" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMGERD this is a WONDERFUL YA novel full of humor and sass and you want this swag, even if you don't know it!</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">This:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><strong style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">An 18×24″ UNHINGED poster + Splintered series swag pack from A.G. Howard (Have you heard of A.G. Howard? SHE'S KIND OF A BIG DEAL!!!&nbsp;</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/unhinged-poster.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="unhinged-poster" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-675" src="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/unhinged-poster.jpg?w=500" height="300" originalw="500" scale="1.5" style="background-image: url(http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/mistylook/img/shadow.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-width: 1px; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-width: 1px; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 10px 4px; width: auto;" width="235" /></a>&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/splintered-unhingedswag.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="splintered-unhingedswag" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-676" src="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/splintered-unhingedswag.jpg?w=500" height="299" originalw="500" scale="1.5" style="background-image: url(http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/mistylook/img/shadow.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-width: 1px; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-width: 1px; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 10px 4px; width: auto;" width="176" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">This:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><strong style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">An e-book of ESSENCE by Lisa Ann O’Kane + Essence swag buttons. A dystopian set in Yosemite?!? YES PLEASE!!</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/essence-book-image.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="essence-book-image" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-677" src="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/essence-book-image.jpg?w=500" height="300" originalw="500" scale="1.5" style="background-image: url(http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/mistylook/img/shadow.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-width: 1px; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-width: 1px; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 10px 4px; width: auto;" width="197" /></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/essence-pins.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="essence-pins" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-678" src="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/essence-pins.jpg?w=500" height="256" originalw="500" scale="1.5" style="background-image: url(http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/mistylook/img/shadow.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-width: 1px; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-width: 1px; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 10px 4px; width: auto;" width="300" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">This:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><strong style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A signed copy of A. Lynden Rolland’s debut OF BREAKABLE THINGS + swag pack. If you like dark and creepy and beautiful writing, YOU WANT THIS STUFF YOU DO!</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/obt-bookimage.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="obt-bookimage" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-679" src="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/obt-bookimage.jpg?w=500" height="276" originalw="500" scale="1.5" style="background-image: url(http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/mistylook/img/shadow.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-width: 1px; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-width: 1px; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 10px 4px; width: auto;" width="184" /></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/obt-button.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="obt-button" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-680" src="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/obt-button.jpg?w=500" height="300" originalw="500" scale="1.5" style="background-image: url(http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/mistylook/img/shadow.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-width: 1px; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-width: 1px; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 10px 4px; width: auto;" width="300" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">This:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><strong style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A signed copy of the horror anthology AMANDA’S RECURRING NIGHTMARE, which includes the short story “Wildflower” &nbsp;by Justin Holley. This dude will keep you awake at night hiding under your covers! Don't miss out!</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/amandas-nightmares.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="amandas-nightmares" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-681" src="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/amandas-nightmares.jpg?w=500" height="300" originalw="500" scale="1.5" style="background-image: url(http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/mistylook/img/shadow.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-width: 1px; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-width: 1px; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 10px 4px; width: auto;" width="195" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">ANDDDDD…</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><strong style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A SIGNED ARC of Eric Devine’s upcoming book PRESS PLAY! This book doesn't even come out until OCTOBER! Make all your friends jealous!</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">Here’s PRESS PLAY’s cover teaser:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/press-play-cover-teaser1.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #265e15; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="press-play-cover-teaser1" class="alignnone wp-image-682" src="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/press-play-cover-teaser1.jpg?w=617&amp;h=242" height="110" originalh="110" originalw="397" scale="1.5" src-orig="http://precylarkins.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/press-play-cover-teaser1.jpg?w=397&amp;h=110" style="background-image: url(http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/mistylook/img/shadow.gif); background-position: 100% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-width: 1px; border-style: solid none none solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-width: 1px; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px 10px 10px 4px;" width="397" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">About the Book:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><strong style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Does the truth really set you free?&nbsp;Pound by sweaty pound, Greg Dunsmore’s plan is working. Greg is steadily losing weight while gaining the material he needs to make the documentary that will get him into film school and away from the constant jeers of “Dun the Ton.”&nbsp;But when Greg captures footage of brutal and bloody hazing by his town’s championship-winning lacrosse team, he knows he has evidence that could damage as much as it could save. And if the harm is to himself and his future, is revealing the truth worth the cost?&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></strong><br /><strong style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">With unflinching honesty, author Eric Devine explores the debatable truths and consequences of the choices we make to get through each day intact.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;">About the Author:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><strong style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Eric Devine is the author of multiple works of Young Adult fiction, most recently&nbsp;</span><i style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://ericdevine.org/books/" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #a72525; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Dare Me</a></i><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">. He is also a veteran high school English teacher, where he spends as much time teaching as he does completing field research for his novels. His work has been listed by YALSA and Booklist for&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/quickpicks/2013" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #a72525; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">reluctant readers</a><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">&nbsp;and for&nbsp;</span><a href="http://booklistonline.com/(X(1)A(w80gi1FozwEkAAAANDEzZDk5OGYtMmJmNS00NWFiLTkzYWEtOGI3OGY2M2E4ZWU1iB1XiynBJSzbwlOTZ4e3t13vQIU1))/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=6292091&amp;AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #ff1709; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Best in Sports</a><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">. He and his wife have two wonderful daughters and two not-so-wonderful Labradors. Eric’s next novel,&nbsp;</span><i style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Press Play</i><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, will be released 10/28, and he is currently working on two novels. Find out more at his&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ericdevineauthor" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #a72525; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">blog</a><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, his&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ericdevineauthor" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #a72525; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook fan page</a><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, or&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/eric_devine" sl-processed="1" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 102, 51); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #a72525; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a><span style="color: #990000; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">: @eric_devine</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19.45599937438965px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px;"><div style="font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You're freaking out right? Enter the giveaway by clicking <a href="http://ericdevine.org/2014/05/14/press-play-cover-reveal/" target="_blank">THIS LINK RIGHT HERE OH YEAH CLICK ME BABY</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scroll down, see the awesome cover and enter in the rafflecopter giveaway! I almost don't want to publish this post so I have a better shot of winning! Good luck to you all :)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div style="font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div></div>Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-57588418272968731892014-05-03T08:13:00.001-07:002014-05-03T08:13:07.491-07:00FREE BOOK! GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT!Helloooo out there in blogger land!<br /><br />So, my book, IMPERFECT CHEMISTRY is totally, absolutely, 100% FREE this entire weekend through Amazon!<br /><br />If you like quirky romantic comedies, this book is for you!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xYh71Mgmmtk/U2UG9gYSp5I/AAAAAAAAD7s/03S52beUZbU/s1600/Imperfect+Chemistry+-+ebooksm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xYh71Mgmmtk/U2UG9gYSp5I/AAAAAAAAD7s/03S52beUZbU/s1600/Imperfect+Chemistry+-+ebooksm.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imperfect-Chemistry-Mary-Frame-ebook/dp/B00JTJQRNW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1399129631&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=imperfect+chemistry" target="_blank">Linky Poo Here...click me, ya know ya wanna...ohhh yeah...</a><br /><br />Don't worry, that link goes to Amazon, not any sites with questionable content, I promise.<br /><br />At the exact moment I'm typing this, my book is sitting at the following Amazon bestsellers ranks:<br /><br /><br /><ul style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li id="SalesRank" style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Amazon Best Sellers Rank:</b>&nbsp;#152 Free in Kindle Store (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_dp_ts_kstore_1" style="color: #003399;">See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store</a>)<ul class="zg_hrsr" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="zg_hrsr_item" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><span class="zg_hrsr_rank" style="display: inline-block; text-align: right; width: 50px;">#10</span>&nbsp;<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_1" style="color: #003399;">Kindle Store</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/154606011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_2" style="color: #003399;">Kindle eBooks</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/157028011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_3" style="color: #003399;">Literature &amp; Fiction</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/157052011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_4" style="color: #003399;">Contemporary Fiction</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/7588748011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_5_last" style="color: #003399;">Romance</a></b></span></li><li class="zg_hrsr_item" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><span class="zg_hrsr_rank" style="display: inline-block; text-align: right; width: 50px;">#13</span>&nbsp;<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_2_1" style="color: #003399;">Kindle Store</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/154606011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_2_2" style="color: #003399;">Kindle eBooks</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/158566011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_2_3" style="color: #003399;">Romance</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/6487838011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_2_4_last" style="color: #003399;">New Adult &amp; College</a></b></span></li><li class="zg_hrsr_item" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><span class="zg_hrsr_rank" style="display: inline-block; text-align: right; width: 50px;">#14</span>&nbsp;<span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_1" style="color: #003399;">Kindle Store</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/154606011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_2" style="color: #003399;">Kindle eBooks</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/158566011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_3" style="color: #003399;">Romance</a>&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/6487841011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_4_last" style="color: #003399;">Romantic Comedy</a></b></span></li></ul></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>AND I may or may not vomit all over the place.<br /><br />Have a fabulous weekend everyone!<br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-21315120436736733022014-04-26T08:26:00.000-07:002014-04-26T09:04:55.370-07:00Working with Createspace: What size book? What color paper?! What is ISBN? WHERE AM I???Hello lovely blog readers!<br /><br />Today, we are going to talk about publishing through Createspace and how to make some of those pesky decisions that you have to make when you decide to indie publish through Amazon.<br /><br />FIRST DECISION (chose wisely!)<br /><br />Will you publish e-book only, or paperback only or both? It would be silly-pants to do paperback only, because once you have all that uploaded, Amazon will import everything FOR YOU into KDP and the e-book world, and the more exposure the better. But I know a few people who started e-book only, or who currently sell e-book only.<br /><br />Some things to think about: e-book is easier. You don't need a full spread (that sounds dirty) which includes the spine and back blurb stuff for cover art, you just need the front cover. It's also very quick to publish e-book only (once you've spent half your life crafting the dang novel in the first place).<br /><br />Why would someone chose e-book only? Well, maybe you don't have the time or resources to have a full blown cover designed. Maybe you need to make some money to pay for said cover, so you want to see what you can get with the e-book and THEN get the paperback version available.<br /><br />What did I do? I did both almost simultaneously, and I'm glad I did. I got to hold a paper copy in my hands, and I was able to review the paperback and find more things I wanted to change, formatting issues, etc. before I hit publish on the ebook. Also...YOU GET TO HOLD A PHYSICAL COPY IN YOUR HANDS! Come on, we all want that, right? Yes, I had to spend a little bit more money and time, but I feel it was worth it.<br /><br />DECISION PART DEUX<br /><br />So, you log into Createspace, you enter in all the easy stuff: Title, author name, is this is a series, etc. And then comes something funky...ISBN. WHAT IS THIS? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? I See Buggy Noobs?<br /><br />ISBN is International Standard Book Number. (Warning: what follows is information I've gleaned from various sources across the interwebs, which are hopefully accurate. I know, I know, everything I read on the internet MUST BE TRUE!)<br /><br />Your ISBN is what the industry uses to track and distribute your book. For example, when you strike it real big and libraries and bookshops want to sell your book, they find and track it using your ISBN. When you become a bazillionaire and everyone wants to represent you and publishing houses are begging at your door for the chance to wipe your sweaty brow, they use the ISBN to see how many sales you've made with a particular title.<br /><br />When you choose your ISBN on Createspace, you have three options.<br /><br />Option One: Free Createspace assigned ISBN. This is free. You have access to Creatspace's expanded distribution, which means more potential buyers. Things to consider: people will see that your publisher is Createspace and they will know you are an indie author (SIDEBAR: I saw this on multiple sites and I am kinda annoyed by it. I mean, as someone who reads a lot of both indie and traditionally published works, I really don't care who published it, I care whether the book is good or not. Also, if you want to self-publish your work and you're that concerned about what others are going to think about it being a self-published work...maybe self-pubbing isn't the right path for you.)<br /><br />Another BIGGER con is that you cannot use your Createspace ISBN to publish your book through other channels. If you decide later you want to push your book through another distribution channel, you may need a different ISBN for the same product and that's when things get sticky, distribution wise and sales-tracking info will be harder to nail down.<br /><br />Option Two: Custom ISBN. I don't really understand the draw with this one because you pay $10, and you still cannot use this ISBN through other publishing platforms.<br /><br />Option Three: Purchase Custom Universal ISBN for $99 where you can use this ISBN to publish across other platforms, and still have access to Amazon's expanded distribution channel.<br /><br />Option Four: Purchase your own ISBN through Bowker or another ISBN agency. This seems to be the best choice, but again, it's going to cost you. The cost for one ISBN through Bowker is $125. They give you deals if you purchase more. For example, you can purchase 10 for $295, or $29.50 per ISBN.<br /><br />Phew. I know, that's a lot of nonsensical information. I guess it comes down to how much you want to spend and if you think you're going to want to distribute elsewhere or get an agent/publishing deal down the road. It will be easier for them to see how well you've sold if you have one ISBN across multiple platforms.<br /><br />Here's a chart that may help.<br /><br /><br /><div id="isbn_left" style="background-color: white; float: left; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; width: 610px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="detailtable" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-style: none solid; border-width: 0px 1px; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 10px 0px 30px; width: 100%px;"><thead><tr><th style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/sidebar_bg_startproj.gif); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(164, 211, 255); border-style: solid none; border-top-color: rgb(164, 211, 255); border-width: 1px 0px; font-size: 12px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 6px; vertical-align: top;"><div align="center">Price</div></th><th style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/sidebar_bg_startproj.gif); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(164, 211, 255); border-style: solid none; border-top-color: rgb(164, 211, 255); border-width: 1px 0px; font-size: 12px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 6px; vertical-align: top;"><div align="center">Imprint</div></th><th style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/sidebar_bg_startproj.gif); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(164, 211, 255); border-style: solid none; border-top-color: rgb(164, 211, 255); border-width: 1px 0px; font-size: 12px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 6px; vertical-align: top;"><div align="center">Distributors</div></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;"><span class="heading" style="font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: bold;">CreateSpace-Assigned ISBN</span></td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;"><strong>Free</strong></td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;">CreateSpace Independent<br />Publishing Platform</td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;">CreateSpace</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;"><span class="heading" style="font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: bold;">Custom ISBN*</span></td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;"><strong>$10</strong></td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;">You choose</td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;">CreateSpace</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;"><span class="heading" style="font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: bold;">Custom Universal ISBN*</span></td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;"><strong>$99</strong></td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;">You choose</td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;">You choose</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;"><span class="heading" style="font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: bold;">Provide Your Own ISBN</span></td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;"><strong>Existing ISBN<br />Required</strong></td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;">You choose</td><td align="center" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; padding: 3px 3px 3px 10px; vertical-align: top;">You choose</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="feature" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; width: 298px;"><h2 id="top" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_top.png); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: white; font-size: 13px; height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 10px;"><span style="display: block; float: right;">FREE</span>CreateSpace-Assigned ISBN</h2><div id="body" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_fill.gif); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat repeat; font-size: 11px; height: 240px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding-left: 15px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform is your book's imprint of record. If you select Amazon.com or Amazon's European websites as distribution channels, this imprint will be reflected on your book's detail page.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">You can sell your book through Amazon.com, Amazon's European websites, a CreateSpace eStore, and&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/ExpandedDistribution.jsp" style="color: #164879;">Expanded Distribution</a>channels.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">This ISBN can only be used with the CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Your book's ISBN information will be registered with BooksInPrint.com®</li></ul></div><div id="bottom" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_bottom.gif); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 10px;"></div></div><div class="feature" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 15px; width: 298px;"><h2 id="top" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_top.png); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: white; font-size: 13px; height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 10px;"><span style="display: block; float: right;">$10</span>Custom ISBN*</h2><div id="body" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_fill.gif); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat repeat; font-size: 11px; height: 240px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding-left: 15px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">You choose your book's imprint of record. If you select Amazon.com or Amazon's European websites as distribution channels, this imprint will be reflected on your book's detail page.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">You can sell your book through Amazon.com, Amazon's European websites, a CreateSpace eStore, and&nbsp;<em>some†</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/ExpandedDistribution.jsp" style="color: #164879;">Expanded Distribution</a>channels.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">This ISBN can only be used with the CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Your book's ISBN information will be registered with BooksInPrint.com®</li></ul></div><div id="bottom" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_bottom.gif); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 10px;"></div></div><div class="clearer" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="feature" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; width: 298px;"><h2 id="top" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_top.png); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: white; font-size: 13px; height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 10px;"><span style="display: block; float: right;">$99</span>Custom Universal ISBN*</h2><div id="body" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_fill.gif); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat repeat; font-size: 11px; height: 240px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding-left: 15px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">You can use this ISBN with any publisher.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">You choose your book's imprint of record. If you select Amazon.com or Amazon's European websites as distribution channels, this imprint will be reflected on your book's detail page.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">You can sell your book through Amazon.com, Amazon's European websites, a CreateSpace eStore, and&nbsp;<em>some†</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/ExpandedDistribution.jsp" style="color: #164879;">Expanded Distribution</a>channels.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Your book's ISBN information will be registered with BooksInPrint.com®</li></ul></div><div id="bottom" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_bottom.gif); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 10px;"></div></div><div class="feature" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 15px; width: 298px;"><h2 id="top" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_top.png); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: white; font-size: 13px; height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 10px;">Provide Your Own ISBN</h2><div id="body" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_fill.gif); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat repeat; font-size: 11px; height: 240px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding-left: 15px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">You can purchase your own ISBN from<a href="http://www.myidentifiers.com/" style="color: #164879;" target="_blank">Bowker</a>&nbsp;or through your local&nbsp;<a href="http://www.isbn-international.org/faqs/view/6" style="color: #164879;" target="_blank">ISBN agency</a>.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">If you are&nbsp;<a href="http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/about/faqs6.html" style="color: #164879;" target="_blank">reprinting</a>&nbsp;your book, the title, author name, and binding type must remain the same. A&nbsp;<a href="http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/about/faqs6.html" style="color: #164879;" target="_blank">new edition</a>&nbsp;requires a new ISBN.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Your book's imprint must match what's on file with your ISBN.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">You can sell your book through Amazon.com, Amazon's European websites, an eStore, and<em>some†</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/ExpandedDistribution.jsp" style="color: #164879;">Expanded Distribution</a>&nbsp;channels.</li></ul></div><div id="bottom" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.images-createspace.com/csp/Special/Img/featbox_bottom.gif); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 10px;"></div></div></div><br /><div class="clearer" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></div><br /><br /><br />DECISION PART THREE<br /><br />The next thing you will have to decide is trim size and interior type. You will be given the option of &nbsp;black and white text only, or full color. Obviously, if you have pictures or colorful drawings and such in your work, you're going to pick full color. Full color is more expensive to print, so it will be more expensive for people to buy, and you will have to spend more to get a proof copy. According to the Createspace calculator for manufacturing costs, a full color 200 page book (6X9 dimension) will cost over $14 to print. Black and white interior (text only) with same specs is $3.25. Pretty big difference.<br /><br />Another decision to be made here is the color of your paper, white or cream? White is pretty glaring when you get a print book (My eyes! My eyes!), and industry standard is cream for fiction, white for non-fiction. I went with cream since my book is fiction, and I think it's a little easier to read. My pasty white legs have blinded enough people as it is, no need to stretch that to my novels as well.<br /><br />Next, you pick trim size. 6 X 9 is the most recommended option with the widest distribution options, and I suppose you may pick a smaller size or larger size depending on your page count and what it will look like. The good news is that you can order a proof copy and review it before hitting publish, allowing you to make changes and find out which size/dimension will work best for you.<br /><br />Is your brain hurting yet?<br /><br />And wow this post got waaay longer than I thought it would! So before I bore you to tears we'll stop here and continue another time with even MORE decisions you get to make when indie publishing.<br /><br />Coming up soon: Formatting! Uploading! Waiting! Oh my!<br /><br /><br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-59413306746142531562014-04-22T20:24:00.000-07:002014-04-22T20:24:27.369-07:00Available now! A book! By me! Plus some things I've learned!Hey everyone!<br /><br />It's been a busy year, and an even busier month.<br /><br />My first novel, Imperfect Chemistry, a new adult romance chick-lit romantic comedy type book is now available via <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imperfect-Chemistry-Series-Mary-Frame-ebook/dp/B00JTJQRNW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1398221457&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=mary+frame" target="_blank">Amazon</a>!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0QnULNYDSiE/U1cqZT3k83I/AAAAAAAAD3k/O4foK88G5Q4/s1600/Imperfect+Chemistry+-high.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0QnULNYDSiE/U1cqZT3k83I/AAAAAAAAD3k/O4foK88G5Q4/s1600/Imperfect+Chemistry+-high.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh the pretty! Oh the purple! Dontcha just wanna go buy it RIGHT NOW!?<br />e-book currently available, print version is available via createspace.com<br />but won't be on Amazon for a few more days. Sad face.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Self publishing (er, indie publishing, whatever you want to call it) is very interesting. I've discovered lots of things.<br /><br /><br /><br />For example, there's another Mary Frame who wrote "Tie Dying and Batik" I have no idea what that means, or who this person is, but let's give her some love anyways!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Il_VX_c7tSY/U1crxMRtWMI/AAAAAAAAD30/vTIPH2YJzK0/s1600/tyedying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Il_VX_c7tSY/U1crxMRtWMI/AAAAAAAAD30/vTIPH2YJzK0/s1600/tyedying.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1844636.Tie_Dyeing_And_Batik?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>.<br />&nbsp;I love tie dyeing! <br />And after googling, I discovered that Batik is an ancient Japanese form of wax resistant dyeing.<br />I love this chick because I love hippies, and not just because her name is Mary Frame, although that helps.<br />And yes, I totally added this to my "To read" list on Goodreads.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br />Another thing I've learned: when I first published on Amazon when I entered my name into the search, my book wouldn't show up until like page 5 of the search results.<br /><br />But now, after a couple days, if you type my name into Amazon, my book comes up almost immediately!<br /><br />Right underneath THIS:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4dd2efMI8Fo/U1csb9qdjNI/AAAAAAAAD34/7I0oDDByuzI/s1600/mothermary.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4dd2efMI8Fo/U1csb9qdjNI/AAAAAAAAD34/7I0oDDByuzI/s1600/mothermary.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mother Mary Photo Frames! AVAILABLE FREE ON YOUR ANDROID!<br />&nbsp;But if you click the link on Amazon, it's also rated "guidance suggested" which kinda creeps me out a little.<br />Why isn't Mother Mary suitable for all ages?!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />I've also learned that marketing is hard, I'm obsessive compulsive about Amazon rankings and perusing my royalty stats, and that my friends (writer friends, coworkers, general life friends) are amazing and supportive and wonderful.<br /><br />So that's where I'm at.<br /><br />I've learned many more, useful things, but I'm too tired and I've had too much wine to write anything that will mean anything to anyone However, I promise I will return to blogging shortly with some much more eloquent and worthwhile info.<br /><br />Until then!<br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-48110505034210719372014-04-18T06:19:00.002-07:002014-04-18T06:20:36.828-07:00Coming out of the closet (not in the way you think. Although I would totally do Anna Kendrick...just sayin')I've been blogging since 2010, about a year after the whole, "HEY I WANNA WRITE A BOOK!" part of my life started.<br /><br />Since then, I've confided in my writerly journey to: my mother, other writers, my closest friends, and a handful of other people.<br /><br />Coming out (so to speak) to people is tough. Especially when you're struggling just to put words on a page, let alone trying to master the art of storytelling, character development, thematic nuances, dialogue, juggling multiple plot arcs...it goes on, and on, and on. <br /><br />The truth is (and if you've read my way past blog posts, you know this already), when I first started writing, I sucked. Like really sucked. And to be honest, I'm still not that great. But one of the many the draws (for me), and the point of this whole part of my life is that it's something that I can learn. I can grow. I can get better.<br /><br />Someday, I'm not going to suck so much. As a matter of fact, I suck less than I did five years ago, and that's exciting. That's thrilling, actually.<br /><br />I think this is GENERALLY true for anyone who pursues any kind of art. When you first start out, you're not that great. You have to learn-just like with anything else-and it takes time and a whole lot of work to build your skills. For me, it took me longer than the average bear. I don't know why. I'm special like that. But it was a good thing! It was a humbling thing. Most things I've tried, I pick up fairly quickly. Not so with writing, and that's okay.<br /><br />The point, I guess, is that I didn't give up. I could have. I thought about it, occasionally. But then an idea would grip me and it wouldn't let me go and I had to get it out there.<br /><br />I'm so pleased that I didn't give up after the first year (or the second, or the third, or the fourth...). I didn't let the fact that I knew I wasn't that great stop me from continuing to try.<br /><br />And now I have something to share with the world. Something that will let them escape for a few hours, something that will make people laugh (hopefully), and that's a great feeling.<br /><br />So, yes. I am coming out of the closet to...everyone.<br /><br />My name is Mary Frame, and I am a writer.<br /><br />(it doesn't say GOOD writer, it just says writer, you see that?)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-67517823951799970652014-04-16T07:10:00.003-07:002014-04-16T07:10:21.838-07:00Decisions, Decisions...and some things I've learned about KDP SelectWhile working on getting my book published, I've been researching a lot of information. I'm going to (attempt to) organize some of the things I've found useful. Soon, I will also be posting some tips and things I've learned (and screwed up!) while making this publishing journey.<br /><br />Keep in mind that a lot of this is based on the decisions I've made, mostly because they will work best for me, personally. Everyone's path is different, and if you are choosing to self-publish your book, you may find another route that works better for you.<br /><br />I have decided to start my journey by going through Amazon and their KDP select program.<br /><br />What is this KDP select program you speak of (you may be asking)? KDP select is where you agree to publish your book SOLELY through Amazon and NO OTHER retailer. There are, of course, certain benefits and detriments to going through KDP select.<br /><br /><b>The obvious downfall:</b> you can't publish anywhere else, and therefore may lose out on sales through other retailers like Barnes &amp; Noble or Smashwords. However, you can opt out of the KDP select program after the first 90 days (IMPORTANT SIDEBAR! Amazon will automatically re-enroll you after 90 days! You must go into your account and de-select the auto-enroll feature).<br /><br /><b>The benefits to KDP select</b>: Your e-book will be available for Amazon prime members to download for free, while you still get your royalty cut. Your book will be available to readers in Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and India (all those readers in India who love romantic comedies...).<br /><br />Plus (and this was the big draw for me as a brand new, unknown author) you can pick between these two promotional tools:<br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1) Kindle countdown deals (where your book is available at a lower cost for a limited time to draw more readers, while you still earn royalties) and,<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;2) Free Book promotion where readers can download your book for free (you don't earn any royalties in that scenario, but you may reach more potential readers and move up the Amazon charts which means more exposure-a critical aspect of marketing when you're a newbie like myself).<br /><br />I haven't decided which promotional tool I will use yet, but I'm leaning towards the totally free since I'm an unimportant nobody who really needs to focus first on exposure before working towards making all those millions of dollars with my books (hardy har har).<br /><br />Another reason I am going with KDP select is because it will likely take me AT LEAST 90 days to figure out how to format and upload my book onto all those other platforms, so...win, win. After my initial 90 days and use of the promotional tools, I will be able to spread across other devices and websites.<br /><br />Also, Amazon has made it AMAZINGLY easy to upload and publish, while other platforms are a bit more complicated and time consuming (from what I've heard/researched). And let's face it, Amazon is a GIANT retailer. It's hands-down the best place to get the most exposure.<br /><br />Coming soon to a blog post near you: some tips and guides for formatting and publishing through Amazon, and some mistakes I've made, all in one convenient location (i.e. here)!<br /><br />Stay tuned...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-56787447419573644102014-04-14T06:26:00.001-07:002014-04-14T06:26:27.147-07:00The cover at the end of this blogOkay guys, it's here, it's really here and it's really real and I'm about to piss my pants!<br /><br />Before sharing the cover for my novel, Imperfect Chemistry, I'm going to share with you the journey to the cover! With GIFs! Get excited. It's real fun (or real stupid and boring, I dunno.)<br /><br />I wrote Imperfect Chemistry in November of 2013, and once I finished the crappy, sloppy rough draft, I knew that it would be my first published book. It just didn't suck quite as much as everything else I had written, and I knew I could make it better. So, I immediately hired one of my favorite designers, <a href="http://www.maeidesign.com/" target="_blank">Mae I Design</a>. I sent her an e-mail, she sent me the pricing, I paid, she told me it would be a few months (she's very popular and has a loooong waiting list).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.allgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/excited.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.allgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/excited.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Time passed, I edited, revised, edited some more, sent my book to beta readers, did more editing and revising, hired a line editor did YET MORE editing and revising, and then I was getting real antsy. I e-mailed the designer to make sure of the time frame of when I could expect it, she told me just a couple weeks. Not much time, but it felt like for-ev-er!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dmv.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dmv.gif" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Then it happened! I got the e-mail with an image and a, "Let me know if I'm on the right path!"<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/jon-fan.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/jon-fan.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />We went back and forth a few times, I had her make a few changes, she sent it back, I showed it to some of my favorite peeps for feedback, then had her change a few more things. It only took a few days for the whole process, but I was so excited time passed very sloooowly! (especially since I was checking my phone for her responses every three and a half minutes.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/wait.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/wait.gif" height="181" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />THEN IT HAPPENED GUYS! I GOT IT!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/happy-moves.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/happy-moves.gif" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />I will keep you in suspense no longer. Here it is, the full spread for the printed version:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nfK9PS5z2E8/U0qw2SWbYsI/AAAAAAAADyo/8SqyZjQ34Jg/s1600/Final.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nfK9PS5z2E8/U0qw2SWbYsI/AAAAAAAADyo/8SqyZjQ34Jg/s1600/Final.png" height="221" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />OH THE PRETTY! OH THE PURPLE! Ohmergerd this is really gonna happen and I'm gonna vomit all over the place!<br /><br />Now, I'm just waiting for all of the formatted files to upload and review. I'm going to mail myself a paper copy and go through it once more (or possibly six more times. I just can't help it, somebody STOP ME!) and then I will unleash it upon the world. Hopefully it will not suck so badly as to incite the apocalypse, but we'll see.<br /><br />In the mean time, I'm trying to figure out how to set up an author page on Facebook and playing with the formatting for the printed version (as opposed to the e-book version), and groaning over things like author photos (I am NOT very photogenic) and author bios, etc. I will keep y'all apprised of the situation!<br /><br />So, until next time, goodbye McFly's!<br /><br /><br /><div id="_giphy_12xvz9NssSkaS4" style="max-width: 500px;"></div><script>var _giphy = _giphy || []; _giphy.push({id: '12xvz9NssSkaS4',w: 500, h: 250});var g = document.createElement('script'); g.type = 'text/javascript'; g.async = true;g.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://' : 'http://') + 'giphy.com/static/js/widgets/embed.js';var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g, s);</script>Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-18271163807229046132014-03-31T06:06:00.000-07:002014-12-11T18:39:58.449-08:00My Writing Process Blog Tour (or Whaaat? I'm supposed to have a PROCESS? WHAT IS THIS YOU SPEAK OF?)My wonderful friend Precy Larkins (who blogs here:&nbsp;<a href="http://precylarkins.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">one blog</a>&nbsp;and<a href="http://readywritego.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> two blog</a>)&nbsp;was kind enough to tag me in a blog tour regarding the writing process. She's got a short story published in an anthology here:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Regret-What-Might-Have-ebook/dp/B00IQXAZV2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1395715150&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=winters+regret" target="_blank">Winter's Regret: What Might Have Been</a>.&nbsp;Her story is totally amazeballs, you should buy this book JUST FOR THAT! And she's represented by Julia A. Weber, who's obviously a genius for snapping this gem up.<br /><br />I was thrilled for a few reasons. One, Precy is quite possibly the sweetest, most beautiful person ON THIS PLANET. I DO NOT EXAGGERATE. I AM INORDINATELY FOND OF CAPS RIGHT NOW! Also, I lurve learning about other writers and how they get from vague plot idea to full blown novel. It's fascinating and intriguing how different our paths are, and yet how similar we all tend to be. &nbsp;In addition, I've had absolutely no idea what to blog about lately, so this is a great help.<br /><br />So, here we go. For this tour, I am required (lest Precy find me in my sleep and break my thumbs) to answer four questions.<br /><br /><b>1) What am I working on?</b><br /><br />An entire bottle of chardonnay!<br /><br />Oh wait, this is a writing tour. Fine, fine. I am working on edits (mostly line edits at this point) of my novel Imperfect Chemistry. Hopefully, it will be available on Amazon on May 4th. That's what I'm shooting for since it seems feasible and that's my husband's birthday. In addition to that, I'm outlining/drafting the second novel of the same series entitled: Imperfectly Legal. See the "What I'm working on" tab above for more info on those novels.<br /><br /><b>2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>Well. With Imperfect Chemistry, it's a New Adult novel that's also a romantic comedy. I haven't seen many comedies coming out of the NA genre. Most of what I've seen/read (and please, correct me if I'm wrong!) involves dark pasts and broken characters, guys that are tough and kind of slutty and/or controlling, and the girls who change them/fix them, etc. My novels are different because while the characters aren't perfect and they each have their own character arcs, I try to add a little more humor and awkwardness than what you might typically see in a NA Romance. In addition, I love reversing some of those gender stereotypes that seem prevalent in most romantic novels. I love to surprise my readers.<br /><br /><b>3) Why do I write what I do?</b><br /><b><br /></b>Imperfect Chemistry was the first romantic comedy I've ever written. Prior to this, I wrote mostly paranormal or fantasy type stories. But, this was an idea that had been following me around for awhile. I wanted to write a book about someone who didn't understand the concept of romance, and had to turn to someone of the opposite sex for help.<br /><br />While mulling over that potential concept, I also started thinking of some of my good friends. You see, I have a few friends who are brilliantly smart. One who's a lawyer, speaks four languages, decided on a whim to take the LSATs when we were in college and scored in the 93rd percentile and...she also called me once when she was babysitting to ask how to make a tuna fish sandwich. "Do you have to cook it?!" she asked frantically.<br /><br />I have another friend, who is now a heart surgeon or some crap, who took the math entrance exam for college and tested into calculus three. CALCULUS THREE which is what you need to get a minor in Mathematics! This same friend had a hard time pulling his crap together long enough for us to make simple plans to hang out. He was always making everything way more complicated than it needed to be.<br /><br />It was with these things in mind that the plot for Imperfect Chemistry began to formulate. What if you had a heroine who was exceptionally scientifically smart, but was not too smart in some other area? She would have to learn more about it, and maybe have to solicit advice from someone who would, of course, be the romantic hero. It grew from there.<br /><br /><b>How does your writing process work?&nbsp;</b><br /><br />I used to be a pantser. Alas, this did not work out well for me. I would have a concept or idea and just start writing...but then I would never finish. Or I would rewrite. And rewrite. And rewrite. And rewrite again and then throw it all away! It works for some people, but it took me WAY TOO LONG and about twenty half-written novels to figure out that I'm not one of those people.<br /><br />I have a word doc labeled "idea file" where I put all my ideas, inspirations, characters, concepts, whatever, and I pull from there to outline. I pick whatever story appeals to me the most.<br /><br />I outline fairly extensively. It's not one of those fancy schmancy outlines with roman numerals and junk. It's more like: Scene one - this happens, that needs to happen, maybe some dialogue, more thoughts, more dialogue, show this somehow, introduce this character etc. etc. occasionally, I'll write, "Ugh that sucks, think of something better!" and that actually works sometimes.<br /><br />The outline for Imperfect Chemistry was 20 pages and it took me about a month and a half to finish it. Then I drafted fairly quickly. Imperfect Chemistry was my 2013 <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNo </a>novel, so I wrote it in 30 days.<br /><br />Then came the edits. Those take a little longer. It's difficult to separate yourself from your writing in order to look at it critically. This is why I am uber grateful for beta readers like Precy. I spent about two months editing, then sent it off to my readers and edited some more based on their feedback. And seriously, I love feedback. I really do. ANYTHING to make my work stronger! And I am TRULY blessed with some brilliant friends who are able to give constructive feedback that's not uber critical or snarky, it's just plain brilliant.<br /><br />***<br /><br />Phew, that's all done. Now I have to tag three other writers to participate in this lovely little tour.<br /><br />Without further ado, I bring you:<br /><br /><a href="http://authorjenniferwayne.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer Wayne!</a> Watch out world, this girl is hot hot hot! Her paranormal romance trilogy, THE CHOSEN is coming to an ebook near you (hopefully soon. Get on it sister!) She's fairly new to the writing world, but she's SUPER sweet and her books are sexy, sassy, and she's got that THING, I can't even explain it, but I've read enough new writers to know that this one is going somewhere. Fast. Keep yer eye out, matey! (I have no idea where the pirate talk came from, just let it happen.)<br /><br /><a href="http://thepartypony.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jennifer Prescott.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;What can I say about my lovely Jenny Phresh-face? She's brilliant. Like, literally genius-worthy brilliant, and if you don't believe me, just check out her fantastic mid-grade fantasy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hundred-Fall-Wents-Jennifer-Prescott-ebook/dp/B00FYFL3RK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1396270952&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=the+hundred" target="_blank">THE HUNDRED</a>. The world building will make you piss your pants and karate chop your furniture! You should also read every last thing on her blog. You will laugh so hard your innards will implode from sheer humor.<br /><br /><a href="http://yesternightsvoyage.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Joyce Alton.</a> Ah, Joyce, This lady is super sweet and talented and her blog is chockablock FULL of amazing usefulness so go follow it now! She's written a barrel-full of novels and is published in the non-fiction world under a different name (she's sneaky-sneaky like that). She also moderates a speculative fiction group on Agent Query Connect. In short, she's amazeballs.<br /><br />Honorable mention:<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/">Jenn<u>&nbsp;Marie Thorne</u>.<span id="goog_33154211"></span></a>&nbsp;I have this thing with Jennifer's. I don't know what it is. THIS Jennifer has been a beta reader of mine for (hold on while I check my e-mail account here) August 2010! So, about four years, and I have to say, it has been absolutely wonderful watching her grow as a writer. Her book, which is currently listed on Goodreads as SPIN (the title is changing and I don't know if I can share that and...aca-awkward) you SHOULD READ IT AND ADD IT TO YOUR LISTS AND KISS HER FEET. Ahem. Let's just say, I went from beta reader to fan-girl on this one, and you would be wise to follow suit! She doesn't currently have a blog, but she's working on it (this is why she is merely mentioned honorably rather than tagged), and I will let you lovely blog readers know when she's ready to face the world!<br /><br />That's it! Thanks for getting this far if you're still reading (this blog post literally took me a week and a half to write, phew!). Catch ya on the flip side.Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-25609841405983760672014-03-27T16:24:00.000-07:002014-03-27T16:24:40.224-07:00Cover Lovin' Had Me a BlastHello lovely people! I'm home today because my daughter turned into Pukey McPukerson last night, so after obtaining approximately four hours of sleep, I thought, hey I can blog today! It seems like a good idea although random nonsense may emerge periodically, and tomorrow I might decide this was a bad decision.<br /><br />Oh, well.<br /><br />So, my cover should be ready within the next few weeks, and in honor of me rending my hair in nervous anticipation, I decided to give out some cover lovin'. Below, I give you a combination of my most favorite covers, and some hilarious covers. To kick it off, a cover by the designer I hired for my novel.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1353550763l/16113791.jpg" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="211" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I lurve this cover. This is the reason I hired Regina Wamba at Mae I Design. One of the best romance cover's I've seen. And I don't generally like covers with people on them for some reason, I usually prefer fairly simple covers, like the ones below.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="This Charming Man" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328451976l/2334751.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="211" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice colors, nothing too crazy. I love this. And this is an awesome, hilarious, tragic book, btw.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Summer on the Short Bus" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386952100l/13635790.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="213" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AND THIS ONE OMGERD! This is a great cover, and I'm not just saying that because I know and love the writer,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bethanycrandell.com/" target="_blank">Bethany Crandell</a>.&nbsp;It's so perfect for this book. And it's simple, clean, bright and cheery...I love it so much, I want to rub it all over my body. Oh, wait, I have a copy so I will do that right now. If you would like to join me, buy your own here:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blogger.com/%C2%A0http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Short-Bus-Bethany-Crandell/dp/0762449519/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1395934443&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr&amp;keywords=summer+on+the+short+bus" target="_blank">Summer On The Short Bus</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i0.wp.com/www.ekristinanderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/femininetypographicalcovers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I saw an article the other day about the trend of book covers beginning to lean toward more typographically inclined, as opposed to faces and people. I stole this image from there: <a href="http://www.ekristinanderson.com/?p=8391" target="_blank">Write All the Words: Author and Poet E. Kristin Anderson</a>&nbsp;and I have to say, I really like all of these. I think that Ms. Anderson is correct in that covers like this have more universal appeal, and could lead to gaining readers who may not have picked up a book otherwise. <br />Say, if it looked like the one below.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://www.clusterflock.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/harlequin-nascar-romance-novel-covers-17.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">This might not be a bad novel, but...what are they looking at? What's with the thousand mile stare and the hair blowing in the wind? I guess it IS a NASCAR novel. Oh, look, the cars are going around, and around, and around. Hey, they just completed another lap! (I really shouldn't judge to harshly. I read somewhere once that Harlequin sells four books every second or something completely ridiculous like that.)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRvLVNN7ACk/TV3PUFRYq9I/AAAAAAAAASY/ZeBxFSEfjIw/s320/Fabio+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="187" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahhh Fabio...giving romance novels a bad rap since 1982. I mean seriously, there's a lot of really awesome, wonderful, clever romance novels out there but they have these awful cheeseball covers! Every single one of them have shirtless men, scantily clad women, and poses that would make anyone else look like fools. They're embarrassing to buy and/or read in public. Thank god for Kindle. And the titles! "Defy Not the Heart" what does that even mean?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>So there you have it. Some book cover lovin' and laughing.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Coming soon: I was tagged by the delectable <a href="http://precylarkins.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Precy Larkins</a> for a "Writing Process Blog Tour," so stay tuned for the next blog installment! In the meantime, good night and good luck.&nbsp;</div>Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-69788038986095117452014-03-17T19:03:00.000-07:002014-03-17T19:03:56.472-07:00On Blogger's Block & InspirationMy little sister, <a href="http://quesyrahsarah.wordpress.com/author/sarendipity/" target="_blank">Sarah Kane</a>, is living the writer's dream right now. Or, possibly, the human's dream. She's traveling through South America on a little more than a hope and a prayer, blogging about her experiences while she surfs, hangs out on the beach, and eats tropical fruit with the ultimate goal of working on a vineyard in Argentina.<br /><br />I know. What a bitch, right? But she's so cute! Look how cute she is!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VQKeUq4lgiI/Uyejf8MC0-I/AAAAAAAADsE/pvsp7fHEfKE/s1600/sarah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VQKeUq4lgiI/Uyejf8MC0-I/AAAAAAAADsE/pvsp7fHEfKE/s1600/sarah.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isn't she adorable? You want to squeeze her face off, don't you? <br />BTW, she's NOT the one with the mustache.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I sent her a message, recently, to make sure she was still alive because she has not been blogging much, and she shared with me her a little of her blogging anxiety. What should I write about? Pre-post anxiety, she calls it!<br /><br />This is nothing new to me. I've been there. This blog went dark for two years until I recently breathed some life back into it. And still, I think sometimes (or most of the time): what next? What can I write about that will touch someone, somewhere (and not in an inappropriate touchy way)?<br /><br />I worry about this as a writer in general, and I touched on it in my last post about <a href="http://marewolf.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-seven-writerly-fears-of-doooom.html" target="_blank">writerly fears of DOOOOOM. </a>&nbsp;It's scary. What if this is it? What if I have no new thoughts or ideas, like, EVER AGAIN!?<br /><br />There's a few tricks. <b>One</b>: (and this is the one I gave my sister) don't be afraid to expose your insecurities. Don't be afraid to share some intimate, embarrassing, hopeless, useless part of your being. As humans on this planet we are all subjected to self-doubts about something. And with this, we can relate to each other. We can sigh in relief, and gasp in wonder about the fact that no matter how alone we feel, we are never really alone, and we are all in fact the same - yet beautifully different.<br /><br /><b>Two</b>: Just keep writing. Write through it. Keep going, no matter what. Even if what you're writing is terrible, because writing terrible things is the only way to write beautiful things. Eventually. At least that's the hope.<br /><br />There are other things that help ignite inspiration, for me anyways: music, movies, good books, my children, travelling, climbing mountains, and for some bizarre reason every time I'm in the shower I come up with fixes to broken plot points and character arcs.<br /><br />What about you? What do you use to inspire yourself and break through those pesky writerly insecurities? What weapons have you forged against writers block?Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-56461271469042831682014-03-01T10:57:00.001-08:002014-03-01T10:57:15.125-08:00Top Seven Writerly Fears of DOOOOMBeing a writer is scary. It's serious business. You write something and then you pass it over to people to read, and they're like "oh whatever" and you're like "OMG THEY'RE READING MY SOOUUL".<br /><br />In honor of recently handing off my own work to some of the most wonderful writers I've ever read, (and also some friends who aren't writers, but voracious readers) I bring you: TOP SEVEN WRITERLY FEARS OF DOOOOOM. But it's not just about baring your soul to other people, there are many things about being a writer that would scare the piss out of even this guy:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ajXTM7gVMbY/UxIduuROvvI/AAAAAAAADo4/ozT6OXp05ZA/s1600/freddy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ajXTM7gVMbY/UxIduuROvvI/AAAAAAAADo4/ozT6OXp05ZA/s1600/freddy.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One, two beta readers coming for you; three, four better run spell check before...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><b>Writerly Fear Number One: Even though I've been writing for five years and I edited that draft until my eyes bled, deep down, I still think it might suck.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />You know you're thinking it. You love it. You want to squeeze it and kiss it and call it George, but then you send it to that reader. The one that's super smart, or super informed and opinionated, and you think it. <i>They're going to hate it</i>. And by extension they're going to hate <i>me</i>.<br /><br /><b>Writerly Fear Number Two: They're not going to get it.</b><br /><b><br /></b>You outlined it. You wrote it. You edited it to death. You understand the thematic nuances behind each scene, and the irony of some scenes that are supposed to be taken ironically and not completely literally. But will they get it? Will they think it's stupid? Will they think it's literal and then judge you and hate you some more?<br /><br /><b>Writerly Fear Number Three: I'm never going to write anything remotely good ever again. This was a one off.</b><br /><br />You've finally done it. You wrote something, and you don't think it completely sucks (it just sucks a little, maybe. In spots.) It's taken YEARS to get to this point, but the fear remains. What if this is it? This is the only book I ever write that isn't total crap on a poodle stick?<br /><br /><b>Writerly Fear Number Four: You get good feedback from people about your work, but you're pretty sure they're lying.</b><br /><br />This is it. You get the e-mail/text/phone call from your reader and they love it. They love the characters, they think it was funny, etc. etc. And you have a moment of elation. Yay! I rock! But what if they're lying? What if they're just saying these things because they're really nice people, but the truth is they hated it and they don't know how to say that without being mean?<br /><br /><b>Writerly Fear Number Five: Four million one star reviews on Amazon/Goodreads/pick a site!</b><br /><b><br /></b>Okay, this isn't a totally legitimate fear because if you have four million reviews, one star or not, that's means lots of people read your book, so it can't be that bad. But seriously, what if you become like the Rebecca Black of the writing world? Tons of people saying awful things about your work...how horrible is that? Poor Rebecca Black, she's so cute, she doesn't deserve the mean things people said about her song :(<br /><br /><b>Writerly Fear Number Six: Telling people you know that you're writing a book</b><br /><br />It always happens to me. I reveal to a co-worker, acquaintance, whomever, that I write books and they ask things like, "What's your book about?" and that elevator pitch that you've worked on forever that sounds super great while you're thinking about it in the shower, comes out sounding like the lamest concept ever imagined. Like Sharknado. Or you stumble over your words and can't quite get the idea out. Yep. Real articulate. I'm a great writer. Really. *face palm*<br /><br /><b>Writerly Fear Number Seven: Not doing a topic justice</b><br /><br />I'm struggling a little with this one right now. I'm writing a book and the MC is a side character from the last book I wrote. In book one, this character experiences date rape. In the book I'm currently drafting, she's dealing with this issue and how it's effected her and her current relationships. But...what if I can't do this topic justice? What if someone who's experienced rape reads it and finds it lacking or insulting? That's the last thing I want, I want people who've dealt with this trauma to know that they are not alone, and they can move on and they can get justice.<br /><br /><br />So, those are my biggest fears when it comes to writing, and some of what I'm experiencing now.<br /><br />Please feel free to share your own biggest fears and insecurities, it really does help overcome them!<br /><br />Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5340518626243661485.post-80377092332805418672014-02-22T08:36:00.000-08:002014-02-22T08:37:18.149-08:00Buttons Aren't ToysIt's something, I think, every writer goes through.<br /><br />From the beginning of my writerly journey, until now, I still go through it.<br /><br />I'm so excited about my novel, <i>Imperfect Chemistry</i>, that I plan on publishing later this year, but it's not quite ready yet. There's still a bit of editing I need to do, and I still have more beta readers waiting in the wings to read and comment after I input the changes and additions from the beta's who've read it so far.<br /><br />What's difficult is WAITING TO PUSH THAT BUTTON.<br /><br />You know what I mean? I pushed the button way to early when I first started writing. I queried my first novel before it was ready, but really I queried that novel before<i> I </i>was ready. I just didn't know it at the time.<br /><br />But please, learn from my mistakes. And never, ever, EVER query after drinking. I don't quite remember exactly (because I think I repressed the memory, it was so embarrassing), in one of my early query letters, I waxed on and on about how I pull at my eyebrows when I'm nervous. Right. Don't do it! Bad decision!<br /><br />But it's so hard to wait sometimes! I just get...anxious! I want to do it now! I want to feel the excitement and trepidation of seeing it OUT THERE for public consumption! But it's not ready yet, and I know that.<br /><br />Even the most recent draft of <i>Imperfect Chemistry</i> wasn't quite ready for my first line beta readers. I went through it last week and there were TYPOS still! What!? But I wanted feedback before I continued to edit, just in case my betas would find any glaring problems or inconsistencies that I was too close to see, and I didn't want to keep editing something I would cut or change later.<br /><br />It's hard though. Waiting.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/h4kklZxLFK0?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><br />Listen to Zooey. Think before you click. Buttons aren't toys!Mary Framehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788741094016287877noreply@blogger.com6